Fun Fall Festivals in the South

Fall is a great time of the year. The air begins to cool down and turn crisp. The leaves begin to change to vibrant shades of rust, orange and red. But the very best things about this time of year are the fabulous fall festivals going on in our area. From the quirky Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk, NC to the prestigious Euphoria event taking place right here in the Upstate, there’s an event for everyone. So get out and enjoying the fresh air and celebrate all of the fun fall festivals that the South has to offer!

St. Francis Fall for Greenville

Greenville’s longest running street festival is celebrating its thirtieth birthday. The event spans three days and features over 200 tasty creations from over 40 of Greenville’s best restaurants. In addition to its diversity of food, St. Francis Fall for Greenville is also known for its free musical entertainment performed by local and regional musical talent on six different stages. Additional ancillary events include a variety of children’s activities, culinary demonstrations, wine tasting, a beer garden featuring 14 craft breweries and various competitions including a Bartender’s Mix-Off, Back of House Race, Jalapeno Eating Contest, Silver Spoon – People’s Choice of Favorite Restaurant Award, Silver Spoon – Taster’s Choice of Favorite Restaurant Award (culinary experts) and Waiter’s Race. In celebrating the event’s 30th anniversary, this year’s festival will feature the Coppenrath Europe’s Bakery Cake Challenge. The new event will challenge both amateur and professional cake decorators to compete and showcase their cake decorating skills.

While exploring local folklore about Woolly Worms being able to forecast the weather and also looking into the need to have an annual festival, Banner Elk resident Jim Morton put the two things together and helped create the Woolly Worm Festival Association. This annual festival is held in downtown Banner Elk and now attracts over 23,000 visitors and 140 vendors. It’s two days of crafts, food, music, and of course the woolly worm racing.

The former Land of Oz theme park atop Beech Mountain springs to life for all things Oz-related. Tour Dorothy’s House, walk the 44,000-brick Yellow Brick Road and meet Dorothy, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow and more. Many folks come in costume and are encouraged to bring their “Ozzie” photos and treasures to add to the event.There will be a mini-museum to visit and artifacts to share. Bluegrass bands, local dancers, and a small petting zoo will add more fun at the Farm.

While not a “traditional” fall festival, this one is worth mentioning. In its 6th year, this weekend long event includes exclusive tasting events, cooking demonstrations and wine seminars, as well as multi-course dinners and live musical performances. Dedicated to excellence, Euphoria features domestic and international wines, celebrity chefs, master sommeliers, and national recording artists. It’s a weekend destination event that has impressed many with its passion for quality and value.

Celebrate fall and the 1828 discovery of gold in Georgia’s “Golden City,” Dahlonega. Gold Rush days is a two-day celebration on the Historic Square that includes a parade, children’s activities, a fashion show, gold panning contest, wheelbarrow race, King and Queen Coronation, hog calling, a clogging contest, gospel singing, wrist wrestling, delicious local cuisine and other live entertainment.

Time to make the scarecrows! This unique fall event has scarecrows that are made by local students and businesses and then are scattered all over town! Free family merriment includes groovy country music with High Cotton, games of crow-cornhole, hay rides to the log cabin, quirky face painting, historical demos, artsy activities, stimulating story-telling, and engaging inflatables.

The Lake Murray-Irmo Woman’s Club was looking for a way to raise money to build a new library in 1973. When listening to a WIS Radio broadcast by Gene McKay, a personality on the morning show, said he had his imagination piqued by a small, downtown Irmo hardware store named The Ancient Irmese General Store.

“What were these Ancient Irmese like?” pondered McKay, “Probably short people — a farming tribe who lived off okra!” Thus the annual Okra Strut was born. The festival is now a two day event featuring a street dance, parade, arts and crafts, rides and amusements, petting zoo, lots of festival food and Okra man.

Chicken Bog is a conglomeration of rice, spices and chicken and is a PeeDee native treasure. Legend has it that one Yankee officer liked it so much he switched uniforms. So why not celebrate that with a Chicken Bog Cooking Contest, Arts & Crafts, Kid’s Area, Concert, Fireworks, Car & Tractor Show, and Great Food.

With shrimp races (yes, you read that correctly- but they are rubber shrimp, not real ones!), a 5k run/walk and a tagline that reads “Dance your shrimp tails off, come with an empty stomach, vote for your favorite shrimp dish and meet Vanna White!” what’s not to like.

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About the Author

Sherry Jackson’s love of travel came at a young age. Her family would load up the car on the weekend, pick a destination and set off to explore. She has traversed thru jungles, snorkeled the turquoise waters of the Caribbean and wandered the streets of Paris, always searching for her next adventure. Her articles have been featured in a variety of outlets including USA Today, Blue Ridge Country, Foothills Spotlight Magazine, Jetsetter, Bootsnall, Gadling, Yahoo, CityRoom, The Simpsonville Sentinel and countless other print and online publications. She owns and maintains four websites (www.seethesouth.com , www.dragonflyventures.com, dvtravels.net and www.rulesforeveryday.com). Sherry is a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) and the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA). Her work can be viewed at www.dragonflyventures.com.

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